A Seal and a Surprise Catch

Derby enthusiasts who go and weigh in their fish from 8 to 10 p.m. at the foot of Main street in Edgartown have noticed a smart big seal swimming nearby.

Derby president Ed Jerome thinks the seal may be the same one that has come to swim off the weigh station for years.

Mr. Jerome said the “big guy” swims up when local anglers slap the water with a fish carcass. “He is there every night,” Mr. Jerome said. Even youngsters have fed the animal.

“You got to take a picture of it,” Mr. Jerome said. So we are going to try — if the seal cooperates, you’ll see the photos here.

*

The best fishermen stories are those about fathers and sons, and here’s a good one.

On Monday, Ed Lepore, 74, and his 49-year-old son Jim went fishing in Vineyard Sound in Ed’s boat ClaminJan. Jim had come from his home in Kansas City for a couple of days fishing on the Vineyard with his father. On Monday, they went for a last fish together before Jim was to catch his plane home.

They were flyfishing, and by 10 a.m. they had caught and released two undersized striped bass.

Heading back to the dock, Ed said, they decided to troll using spinning reels and Rapala deep-diving lures. They had passed by Steve Baccelli, another top derby angler, fishing in his boat when Jim hooked onto a bluefish. Moments later, Ed hooked onto a bonito.

“We doubled up,” Ed said. “We both had fish.”

So, by the time Jim was on his plane, he had caught an 11.5-pound bluefish that earned him a first place for the daily. Ed didn’t do too badly, either: he caught a 7.41-pound bonito which earned him two third-place awards, a third place daily and a third place grand leader.

Steve Baccelli is leading the derby with the largest boat bonito, an 8.33 pounder.